Imagine sitting in class, surrounded by just a few people scattered across the room. You look around at all of the empty desks, and you don’t hear much besides some quiet discussion between the class and the occasional pencil moving around paper.
In the Black River Falls High School, 12 students are usually needed to be enrolled in a class in order for the class to be left available for students to take. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Specialized classes like AP classes are often available to take even if they don’t meet the requirements. Another instance is certain classes that only offer one class a trimester, like band and choir, and some students may want to take both. Because of these exceptions, some students end up in unusually small classes, like Garret Cuminale, a sophomore in a Spanish class of only eight people.
“Spanish class feels different because less people testing is a lot easier, a lot calmer, and there’s not as many people to get distracted by and talk to you.” Cuminale said. “Class discussions are kind of weird. It affects it a lot because half the time you get only one person saying the answers and the other half the time everyone’s saying the answers.”
Small classes can be very different compared to classes with other people, and this brings a variety of different opinions regarding the subject. Some students not only enjoy having a class with fewer people, but they also believe that it can have benefits to learning.
“The benefits of a small class is that you could have more one-on-one time with a teacher if you needed it, and it’s also quieter,” junior Aiden Pillard said.
According to the American Federation of Teachers, more student-teacher interaction allows for teachers to better learn and adjust to students’ learning styles and needs. On the other hand, small classes can negatively impact social interactions and friendship opportunities by not giving students enough people to interact with. According to the National Institutes of Health, friendships and socialization can lead to higher academic success and even higher grade point average by reducing stress and providing support. Some students like Julian Rangel-Olvera, a senior at BRFHS, think that small classes have their downsides.
“What I don’t like about being in a small class is the, just not enough kids that are around to give you a different type of responses and answers to different questions,” Rangel-Olvera said. “My ideal class size is about 15 to 16 people. At least anything over 20 is a bit too excessive, I believe so, but if you just keep it under 20 or 15, that’s perfect amount for me.”
As schools continue to balance schedules and work through class make-up, class size remains a topic of discussion among educators and students alike.
